Pfizer's lung cancer drug trial has failed. What will happen to the stock?
Pfizer's experimental lung cancer drug failed to extend patients' survival / Photo: Flowersandtraveling / Shutterstock.com
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer reported that its experimental drug, sigvotatug vedotin, did not improve survival rates among patients with advanced lung cancer that cannot be treated surgically. Investors and doctors have been closely following the trials of this drug, according to Bloomberg.
According to the company's press release, sigvotatug vedotin did not extend the lives of patients compared with those who received docetaxel, a standard chemotherapy drug.
“We are disappointed,” said Jeff Legos, head of Pfizer’s oncology division, in an interview with Bloomberg. However, he emphasized that this is just one study in a broader drug development program and part of the company’s ambitions in lung cancer therapy. “This isn’t the end of the story,” he emphasized. The company pointed to a late-stage trial in which sigvotatug vedotin is being evaluated in combination with Merck & Co. as a first-line treatment for patients with newly diagnosed disease whose tumors respond particularly well to immunotherapy.
Pfizer executives stated that data from previous studies support the hypothesis that the drug may be more effective in the earlier stages of treatment and when used in combination with immunotherapy.
Bloomberg notes that the company acquired this drug as part of its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen in late 2023. Pfizer had hoped it would become the first in a new class of drugs capable of delivering potent anticancer agents directly to tumors. The drug targets a specific protein, integrin beta-6, which is produced in approximately 90% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Such patients typically have a poor prognosis, Bloomberg explains.
Barclays analysts noted in May that investors’ expectations for the trial results were low after Pfizer changed the study protocol to focus solely on overall survival, abandoning other endpoints, according to Bloomberg.
Pfizer shares fell 0.5% during regular trading on June 22 and dropped another 1.6% in after-hours trading.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
